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The suspects, who were wearing darking clothing and balaclavas, used a Land Rover to crash into the front of the store before then using an angle grinder to remove the cash machine from the damaged wall.

The three men then loaded the machine into a car, described as a 4x4 with a large V12 engine, before fleeing the scene.

The Land Rover was left at the scene and two other cars, one believed to be a silver Audi A6 and one described as a navy five-door hatchback, are also believed to have been used by the suspects.

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The shop frontage is completely destroyed, with debris scattered across the road.

One witness passing the area at around 5am said: "The Co-op on Rayleigh Road has been ram raided for the cash machine by the looks of it.

"It's a right mess."

Around the time of the incident, residents heard the sound of cars screeching and alarms going off.

"I just heard a load of crashing and loads of cars screeching along Wash Road," one resident said. "Now there are alarms going off.

(Image: Ben Rigby)

"I'm not sure what's happened but hope everything is OK."

A spokesperson from Essex Police said: "Detectives are continuing to investigate and are appealing for any witnesses, particularly anyone who may have mobile phone footage of the incident to get in touch.